The Egyptian of Notre Dame
by Dennis Fielder
Summary: A young man is trapped in the bell tower of Notre Dame by his wicked step father, Dartz.
1. The Bells of Notre Dame

Here's my newest Disney thing. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: The Hunchback of Notre Dame belongs to Disney and _Yu-Gi-Oh! _Belongs to 4Kids, Toei Animation and the guy who wrote the original story. Also, several casting choices belong to AnimeAngelGirl15 and Velgamidragon.

**The Egyptian of Notre Dame**

Chapter 1: The Bells of Notre Dame

In the streets of Paris, Bakura Trouillefou was entertaining several children outside of Notre Dame.

_Know that in Paris,_

_The city awakes _

_To bells of Notre Dame._

_The fisherman fishes._

_The baker man bakes_

_To the bells of Notre Dame._

_To the big bells as loud as the thunder._

_To the little bells soft as a song._

_And some say the soul of,_

_The city's the toll of,_

_The Bells… The bells of Notre Dame._

"Listen." Bakura said. "They're beautiful, no? So many colors of sound. So many changing moods. Because you know, they don't ring all by themselves."

"They don't?" Bakura's younger brother, Ryou asked in mock surprise.

"No you silly boy." Bakura said. "Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower lives the mysterious bell ringer. Who is this person?"

"Who?" Ryou repeated.

"What is he?" Bakura asked.

"What?" Ryou asked.

"How did he come to be there?" Bakura asked.

"How?" Ryou repeated again.

"Hush!" Bakura said as he thwacked his brother with a ruler.

"Ow!" Ryou said.

"Bakura will tell you." Bakura said as the children gathered close. "It is a tale… The tale of a man… And a monster…"

* * *

_Dark was the night,_

_When our tale was begun,_

_On the docks near Notre Dame…_

Veronica tried to comfort her crying child.

"Shut it up, will you?" Her husband Hank said.

"We'll be spotted!" Another man said.

"Hush, little one." Veronica said as she tried to sooth her as of yet unnamed son.

_For frightened gypsies_

_Slipped silently under the docks_

_Near Notre Dame…!_

"For gilders for safe passage into Paris." The boatman said when an arrow suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

_But a trap had been laid for the gypsies._

_And they gazed up in fear and alarm,_

_At a figure whose clutches were iron_

_As much as the bells…_

"Judge Dartz Frollo." Hank gasped as Dartz rode up on a black horse.

_The bells of Notre Dame… (Keri __Elylason__!)_

_Judge Dartz Frollo longed to purge the world of lice and sin. (Keri Elylason!)_

_And he saw corruption everywhere except within._

As Hank and their comrade were put in chains, Dartz looked at the travelers as if they were something unpleasant that no one would mind seeing squashed, like slugs.

"Bring these gypsy vermin to the palace of justice." Dartz ordered coolly.

"You there, what are you hiding?" One of Dartz's men said as he grabbed Veronica by the arm.

"Stolen goods no doubt, take them from her." Dartz said. "Take them from her."

_She ran…_

Veronica wrenched her arm free and ran as fast as she could from Dartz as she put her arms protectively around her son. She eventually gained some ground when she squeezed herself and her son through a gap in the buildings that the horse couldn't possibly go through. She then arrived at Notre Dame and pounded at the door in fear.

"Sanctuary!" Veronica called out. "Please give us sanctuary!"

Unfortunately, Dartz arrived again, and Veronica ran off, but Dartz was too quick for her this time and grabbed her son as she tried to pull him back, but Dartz kicked her in the head, and she smashed it into the steps of Notre Dame and never moved again in this life.

Dartz suddenly heard crying from the bundle.

"A baby?" Dartz asked. He wouldn't have thought someone as slim as her would've had a child. He unwrapped the bundle and saw an Egyptian child with bleach blond hair and violet eyes. None of these traits natural.

"A monster!" Dartz said as he looked around and saw a large well. He prepared to drop the boy down it when Aknamkanon, the Arch-Deacon appeared.

* * *

"'STOP!' Cried the Archdeacon!" Bakura said to the children.

* * *

"This is an unholy demon." Dartz said calmly. "I'm sending it back to Hell where it belongs."

"_See here the innocent blood you have spilt on the steps of Notre Dame?_" Aknamkanon asked as he held up the gypsy woman.

"I am guiltless." Dartz said. "She ran, I pursued."

"_Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt on the steps of Notre Dame?_" Aknamkanon asked again.

"My conscience is clean!" Dartz called out.

"_You can lie to yourself and your minions!_" Aknamkanon countered. "_You can claim that you haven't a qualm! But you never can run from, nor hide what you've done from the eyes! The very eyes of Notre Dame!_"

Dartz then looked up at all the biblical figures carved into Notre Dame and shuddered.

_And for one time in his life of power and control,_

_Judge Dartz Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul…_

"What must I do?" Dartz asked.

"Care for the child." Aknamkanon said as he lifted the gypsy woman's body up. "And raise it as your own."

"What?" Dartz asked. "I'm to be settled with this miss-colored-?" Dartz then recomposed himself. "Very well, but let him live with you in your church."

"Live here?" Aknamkanon asked. "Where?"

"Anywhere." Dartz said. "_Just so he's kept locked away where no one else can see._"

"The bell tower perhaps." Dartz mused. "And who knows. Our lord works in mysterious ways. _Even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be of use to me._"

* * *

"And Dartz gave the child a cruel name." Bakura went on. "A name that means 'Possessor'. Marik!"

_Now here is a riddle to guess if you can,_

_Ring the bells of Notre Dame!_

_Who is the monster and who is the man?_

_Ring the bells, bells, bells, bells,_

_Bells… Of… No… Tre… DAME . . .!

* * *

_

Well, this is definitely one of the darker Disney movies. Review, please.


	2. Out There

Chapter Two: Out There

For the next twenty years, Marik was raised by Dartz in the bell tower and believed to be hideous because of his unusual hair and eye color. He yearned to see the outside, but he'd long since learned that no sooner would he ask Dartz that Dartz would say no and add that it was for his own good. He walked up to a bird that was sleeping in one of the high up statues, a man holding a sword.

"Good morning." Marik whispered as the bird woke up. "Will today be the day? Are you ready to fly?"

"Uh-uh." The bird chirped.

"You sure?" Marik asked. "It's a good day to try. Why, if I picked a day to fly, this would definitely be it. The festival of fools."

The bird gulped.

"Don't worry, it'll be fun." Marik said. "There'll be jugglers and music, and dancing."

As Marik said this, the bird began to flap its wings, and Marik held his hands up as the bird was flying on its own. Marik then laughed kindly and held up his arms. The bird then squeaked happily. Several birds then flew past as the bird in his hands chirped excitedly.

"Go on." Marik said. "No one wants to stay cooped up here forever."

The bird chirped a thank you as it flew off.

He then looked at the sky and down at the festival sadly when he was startled by Joey, the statue the bird was staying on, groaned.

"Oh yuck!" Joey said. "I thought he'd never leave! I'll be washing feathers and bird droppings off a me for a week."

"Well that's what you get for sleeping with your mouth open." Odion, a statue of one of the shepherds who saw Jesus, said.

"Ah, go scare a nun!" Joey said angrily. "So Marik, what's goin' on down there? A fight? A flagging?"

"A festival." Odion said.

"Ya mean da Feast of Fools?" Joey asked excitedly.

"Uh-uh." Marik said glumly.

"Awright!" Joey called out. "Pour da whine and cut da cheese!"

"It is a treat to watch the colorful pageantry of the simple peasant folk." Odion said.

"Nothin' like balcony seats ta watch da old FOF!" Joey said. "Hey look, a mime!"

Joey then prepared to hock a logy at him before Odion covered his mouth, forcing Joey to swallow it.

"Yeah…" Marik said as he continued to be glum. "Watching."

Marik then walked off. That's all he'd done since before he could remember. Watching the people enjoying their lives while he was stuck in the bell tower with only talking statues for company. Marik cared for them as friends and siblings, but he just wished he could go out there, but he knew he never could.

()()()()()

"Hey, what gives?" Joey asked as Marik walked off.

"Aren't you going to watch the festival with us?" Odion asked.

"I don't get it." Joey said as Marik walked inside.

"Perhaps he's sick." Odion said.

"Impossible." Isis, an angel statue, said. "If twenty years of listening to you two hasn't made him sick by now, nothing will."

"But watching the Festival of Fools has always been the highlight of the year for Marik." Odion recounted. They'd been doing it since Marik was three, and they first started talking to him.

"What good is watching a party if you never get to go?" Isis asked as several pigeons landed on her. "You hear that? I said go! Go on, beat it, you bunch of buzzards!" The pigeons then flew off. "Marik's not made of stone like us."

They walked inside.

()()()()()

Marik went to the dinner table where he had made a perfect model of Paris. He sat down and played with one of the figures as Isis sat down next to him.

"Marik, what's wrong?" Isis asked. "You wanna tell old Isis about it?"

"I… I just don't feel like watching the festival." Marik said. "That's all."

"Did you ever think of going there instead?" Isis asked.

"Sure." Marik said. "But I'd never fit in out there. I'm not… normal."

"Oh, Marik, Marik, Ma-" Isis said as a pigeon sat on her head. "Do you mind?" Isis said indignantly. "I would like to have a moment with the boy if it's alright with you!"

"Come on, quit beating around the bell tower." Joey said as he walked up, pulled a figure of Marik down and set him in front of the figure of a girl. "What do we gotta do? Paint ya a fresco?"

"As your friends and guardians, we insist you attend the festival." Odion said.

"Me?" Marik asked.

"No, da pope." Joey said sarcastically. "Of course you!"

"It would be a venerable feast of educational experiences." Odion continued.

"Wine, women, and song!" Joey called out.

"You can learn to identify various regional cheeses." Odion continued.

"Playing dunk da monk!" Joey said as he put a bucket of water on Odion's head.

"Marik, take it from an old spectator." Isis said to Marik. "Life's not a spectator's sport. If watching is all you're going to do with your life, than you're going to watch your life go by without you."

"Yeah come on man, you're human." Joey said. "With da flesh, and da hair, and da naval lint, we're just part of da architecture, right Odion?"

"Yet if you chip us, will we not flick?" Odion said as he removed the bucket from his head. "If you moisten us, do we not grow moist?"

Odion then put the bucket on Joey's head.

"Marik just grab a fresh shirt and put on a clean pair of pants-" Isis began before Marik figured it was time to remind them of something.

"Thanks for the encouragement, but you're all forgetting one thing." Marik said.

"What?" Joey asked as he pulled the bucket off.

"My master, Dartz." Marik said.

"Oh… Yeah…" Joey said downtrodden.

"Well…" Odion began. "When he says you're forbidden from leaving the bell tower, does he mean ever, ever?"

"Never ever." Marik said. "And he hates the Feast of Fools! He'd be furious if I asked him to go."

"Who says ya gotta ask?" Joey said with a sneaky smirk.

"Oh no." Marik gulped.

"Ya sneak out." Joey began.

"It's just one afternoon." Isis added.

"I couldn't." Marik protested.

"And ya sneak back in." Joey finished.

"He'll never know you were gone." Isis assured him.

"And what if I got caught?" Marik pointed out.

"You'd do better begging forgiveness than asking permission." Odion pointed out.

"He might see me." Marik pointed out.

"You could wear a disguise." Joey countered. "Just this once. What Dartz don't know can't hurt ya."

"Ignorance is bliss." Odion added.

"Look who's talking." Joey said with a smirk.

"No one wants to stay cooped up here forever." Isis added as Marik remembered his little bird friend and how he said the exact same thing to him.

"You're right!" Marik said as he stood up. "I'll get cleaned up. I'll go down those stairs; I'll march through the doors and-"

"Good morning Marik." Dartz said as he apparently appeared out of nowhere.

"G-good morning Master." Marik said as all of his confidence fell away in an instant.

"Dear boy, whomever are you talking to?" Dartz asked.

Marik looked at his stationary friends as he knew that they only revealed themselves to Marik because of his loneliness.

"My… Friends." Marik said.

"I see." Dartz said. "And what are your friends made of, Marik?"

"Stone." Marik continued as Dartz lifted up his head.

"Can stone talk?" Dartz asked condescendingly.

"No it can't." Marik answered automatically.

"That's right." Dartz said. "You're a smart lad. Now, lunch."

As Dartz set a basket down by a nearby table, Marik rushed and got his wooden cup and plate while he gave Dartz his silver cup and plate.

"Shall we review your alphabet today?" Dartz asked.

"Oh yes, Master." Marik said. "I would like that very much."

"Very well." Dartz said. "A?"

"Abomination."

"B?"

"Blasphemy."

"C?"

"Contrition."

"D?"

"Damnation."

"E?"

"Eternal damnation."

"Good. F?"

"Festival." Marik said as he thought of the Feast of Fools again when he saw Dartz spit out the wine he'd just taken a sip of.

"Excuse me?" Dartz asked.

"Forgiveness!" Marik said as a correction and a plea.

"You said festival." Dartz said as he stood up.

"No!" Marik protested.

"You're thinking of going to the festival." Dartz stated calmly.

"It's just that you go every year." Marik said plainly.

"_I_ am a public official." Dartz said with an air of impatience. "I _must_ go, but I don't _enjoy_ a moment. Thieves and cut throats, the dregs of human kind all mixed together in a shallow drunken stupor."

Dartz and Marik then walked out to the balcony that over looked most if not all of Paris and a good deal of the country side beyond.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Master." Marik said.

"Marik, can't you understand?" Dartz asked. "When your heartless mother abandoned you as a child, anyone else would have drowned you, and this is my thanks for taking you in and raising you as my son?"

"I'm sorry Master." Marik said timidly as he remembered the story of how he came into Dartz's care.

"Oh my dear Marik," Dartz said. "You don't know what it's like out there. I do. I do."

_The world is cruel._

_The world is wicked._

_It's I alone whom you can trust in this whole city._

_I am your only friend._

_I, who keep you, teach you, feed you, dress you._

_I, who look upon you without fear._

_How can I protect you boy?_

_Unless you always stay in here._

_Away here._

They walked back inside.

"Remember what I taught you Marik." Dartz said.

_You are deformed. (I am deformed.)_

_And you are ugly. (And I am ugly.)_

_And these are things for which the world shows little pity._

_You do not comprehend! (You are my one defender.)_

_Out there they'll revile you as a monster. (I am a monster.)_

_Out there they will hate and scorn and jeer. (Only a monster.)_

_Why invite their calumny and consternation? _

_Stay in here!_

_Be grateful to me. (I'm grateful.)_

_Be faithful to me. (I'm faithful.)_

_Do as I say._

_Obey._

_And stay in here. (I'll stay in here.)_

"You are good to me, Master." Marik said as Dartz prepared to go. "I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven." Dartz said. "But remember Marik, this is your sanctuary."

Dartz then left.

"Sanctuary." Marik said with a sigh. He looked at his model and thought about the past twenty years.

_Safe behind these windows and these parapets of stone._

_Gazing at the people down below me._

_All my life I've watched them as I hide up here alone._

_Hungry for the history they show me._

_All my life I've memorized their faces._

_Knowing them as they will never know me._

_All my life I've wondered how'd it feel to pass a day,_

_Not above them,_

_But part of them!_

Marik then walked to the balcony and smiled town at the city.

_And out there,_

_Living in the sun,_

_Give me one day out there._

_All I ask is one._

_To hold forever._

_Out there!_

_Where they all live unaware!_

_What I'd give…_

_What I'd dare…_

_Just to live one day out there!_

_Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives._

_Through the roofs and gables, I can see them._

_Every day they shout and scold and go about their lives!_

_Headless of the gift it is to be them!_

_If I was in their skin,_

_I'd treasure every instant!_

_Out there!_

_Strolling by the sand._

_Taste the morning out there!_

_Like ordinary men,_

_Who freely walk_

_About there!_

_Just one day, and then I swear,_

_I'll be content with my share._

_Won't resent!_

_Won't despair!_

_Oh and then,_

_I won't care!_

_I'll have spent... One… Day… Out… There . . ._

Marik then put on a purple cloak, made sure the hood was well up to cover his eyes and hair, and walked off.

* * *

Hooray! Go Marik!


	3. The Gypsies

Chapter Three: The Gypsies

Captain Seto Kaiba arrived in Paris with his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Achilles, as he checked his map. He wore golden armor with a blue cloak over it.

"Yeash." Kaiba muttered. "I leave town for a few decades, and they change everything."

Two guards suddenly walked past.

"Excuse me, gentlemen" Kaiba said. "I'm looking for the Palace of Justice would you…?" They walked on. "I guess not."

Kaiba walked to a corner and saw a girl of his own age of 24 playing a tambourine as a Harpie Lady danced along as a woman and her child past her.

"Stay way child!" The woman said. "They're gypsies. They'll steal us blind."

Kaiba didn't see any problem with performing for a living, so he tossed three gold coins into a hat on the ground and looked up at the girl and smiled at her beauty as she smiled back.

Suddenly, a man on a wall whistled, and girl prepared to rush off as the Harpie Lady dropped most of the money and did an odd human-like "Sqwua!"

The girl tried to pick up the coins when the two guards appeared. Kaiba could then see that one had red hair that fell to his shoulders and the other had long brown hair.

"Alright Gypsy, where'd ya get the money?" The man with brown hair asked.

"For your information, I earned it." The girl said coldly.

"Gypsies don't earn money." The brown haired man said.

"They steal it." The man with red hair added.

"You'd know a lot about stealing." The girl countered as the guards grabbed both of her arms.

"Trouble maker!" The red haired man said.

She held onto the hat and kicked the man in the chin, so that he let go as the red haired man continued to hold on.

"Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down." He said.

The Harpie Lady then slashed at the red-haired man, and kicked the brown haired man in the stomach, and the girl and the Harpie rushed off.

"Come back here, Gypsy!" The brown-haired man called out as Kaiba pulled Achilles in front of them to block their path, and the brown haired man groaned as he hit the horse hard and fell behind him.

"Achilles, sit." Kaiba said, and Achilles did so.

"Oh!" The brown haired man screamed. It must've hurt having that much of something on him.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry." Kaiba said with a smirk as everyone around laughed. "Naughty dragon. Naughty. He's just impossible. Really, I can't take him anywhere."

"Get this thing off me." The brown haired man groaned.

"I'll teach you a lesson, peasant!" The red haired man said as he pulled out a dagger, but Kaiba pulled out his sword in retaliation.

"You were saying, _Lieutenant_?" Kaiba asked with a smirk.

"Oh!" The red haired man asked nervously. "Captain Kaiba! Lieutenant Alister at your service sir, and the guy your dragon's sitting on is Lieutenant Valon."

"I know you have a lot on your mind right now." Kaiba said as he put his sword next to Valon's face. "But the palace of justice?"

Valon and Alister then went ahead of Kaiba and Achilles to clear a path, and Kaiba noticed four gold coins on the ground and what appeared to be a beggar sitting against a wall with a very familiar hat. Kaiba smiled and put the coins into it.

()()()()()

Ishizu pulled down the hood as Mai hid. She had never met a soldier who _gave_ her money.

"Achilles, heel." Kaiba said as his dragon snorted at the old Greek reference.

()()()()()

Kaiba arrived at the palace of justice as he heard someone being whipped.

"Stop." The judge, Dartz, Kaiba's superior officer, said.

"Sir?" A man with a brown beard and a monocle asked. He was holding a whip.

"Ease up." Dartz said. "Wait between lashes, or else the last sting will darken to the new."

"Yes sir." The man said as he went back inside with a dark grin as Dartz turned around.

"Ah, here's our gallant Captain Seto Kaiba. Home from the wars." Dartz said with a smile.

"Reporting for duty as ordered, sir." Kaiba said as he stood stock still.

"Your service record precedes you, Kaiba." Dartz said. "I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your caliber."

"And you shall have it sir." Kaiba said. "I guarantee it."

"Yes." Dartz said with a smile. "You know, my last captain of the guards was… A bit of a disappointment." A loud wail came from the room. "No matter, I'm sure you'll _whip_ my men into shape."

"Thank you." Kaiba said as he tried to shut off his emotions, but that wail had seemed too well timed to be coincidence. "Tremendous honor sir."

"You've come to Paris in her darkest hour, Captain." Dartz said. "It will take a firm hand to save the weak minded from being so easily misled."

"Misled, sir?" Kaiba asked.

"Look Captain." Dartz said as he pointed at several people gathering in the market places. "Gypsies. The gypsies live outside the normal order. Their heathen ways enflame the people's lowest instincts, and they must be stopped."

"I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm readers?" Kaiba asked skeptically. He didn't even believe in that stuff, but it seemed a bit extreme to lock people up for doing it.

"The real war Captain is what you see before you." Dartz stated plainly. "For twenty years I've been taking care of the Gypsies, one by one." Dartz then squished a few spiders as he talked that were on a piece of stone. "And yet, for all my success, they flourish." Dartz then pulled the stone out to reveal a whole nest of spiders scurrying under the stone Dartz held and on the area it used to be. "I believe they have a safe haven right within the walls of this very city. A nest if you will. They call it the… Court of Miracles."

"What are _we _going to do about it, sir?" Kaiba asked. Dartz then smashed the rock back down, killing all the spiders there. "Well that was a vivid way of making your point."

"You know, I like you Captain." Dartz said. "Shall we?"

Suddenly, from the town square, a loud cheer rose up.

"Urgh." Dartz groaned. "Duty calls. Have you ever been to a peasant festival, Captain?"

"Not recently, sir." Kaiba said.

"Then this should be quite educational for you." Dartz went on. "Come along."

* * *

Well… Dartz has interesting views.

Marik: Hey, what about me! I'm the main character! How come _I_ wasn't in this chapter?


	4. Topsy Turvy Day

Chapter Four: Topsy-Turvy Day

After Marik had gotten a cloak to hide his face and hair, he climbed down from the bell tower and landed just far enough above the crowd to see the procession.

_Come one. Come all._

_Leave your loops and milking stools._

_Coop the hens and pen the mules._

Marik then grabbed a rope and slid down to a pole holding up a tent and dropped down.

_Come on. Come all._

_Close the churches and the schools._

_Come and join the feast of…_

"_Fools!"_ A pale man with white hair called out as he appeared in the street. Marik was right in front of the man, and he tried to move away before he got a good luck at him, but he just grabbed Marik's wrist. Marik knew who he was of course. Bakura the leader of the gypsies.

_Once a year we throw a party here in town._

_Once a year we turn all Paris upside down._

_Every man's a king and every king's a clown._

_Once again it's Topsy-Turvy Day._

Marik then saw Bakura glance at him and quickly walked away.

_It's a day the devil I us gets released._

_It's a day we mock the king and sock the priest._

Marik hid his face by holding several balloons, but Bakura arrived and cut the strings with a pair of scissors. He then rushed off again. He then saw a procession of dogs walking people. That was a new addition to the feast.

_Topsy Turvy!_

_Everything is upsy-daisy!_

_Topsy Turvy!_

_Everybody's acting crazy!_

_Dross is gold and weeds are a bouquet._

_That's the way on Topsy Turvy Day._

Marik backed away from a procession of girls doing the can-can and ended up falling through a tent.

"Whoa!" Marik called out as a girl in a robe covered herself a bit more. She had blue eyes, long black hair, and skin as dark as his.

"Hey!" The woman called out. She then looked at Marik on the floor and added calmly. "Are you alright?"

"I didn't mean to." Marik said nervously as he pulled his hood lower over his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You're not hurt are you?" The woman asked. "Here, let's see."

"No, no!" Marik protested until the woman lowered his hood and looked at his face.

"There." Ishizu said. "No harm done. Just try to be a little more careful, okay?"

"Uh… okay." Marik said.

"By the way, great wig and lenses." The woman said. "Anyone would think they were real."

Marik smiled nervously as the woman went back inside. He then turned back to the festival and saw a man in a lobster outfit pushing a pot with a cook in it.

_Topsy Turvy!_

_Beat the drums and blow the trumpets!_

_Topsy Turvy!_

_Join the bums and thieves and strumpets!_

_Streaming in from Chartres to Calais,_

_Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy._

_On the six of "Januervy"!_

_All because it's Topsy Turvy Day!_

As Kaiba arrived with his men, he had them spread out to make sure a riot didn't occur. Then, the white haired man, Bakura, Kaiba believed he was called, started calling out.

_Come one. Come all._

_Hurry, hurry, here's your chance._

_See the mystery and romance._

_Come one! Come all!_

_See the finest girl in France,_

_Make an entrance to entrance!_

_Dance Lady Ishizu… DANCE!_

Bakura hopped onto the stage and threw down a powder that caused a large amount of smoke to appear, and when it cleared, the gypsy Kaiba had met earlier, Ishizu he guessed, began dancing in a revealing red outfit that left her arms bare.

"Look at that disgusting display!" Dartz said angrily.

"Yes sir." Kaiba said with interest as he watched Ishizu dance a more… Adult… version of the dance she did earlier that day.

Ishizu, with her feet barely touching the ground, then skipped up to Dartz and put a sash with stars, crescent moons, and suns on it around Dartz neck and smiled at him before playfully pushing him back. Everyone laughed as Dartz simply fumed. Ishizu then did several spins and a split as she winked at an individual in a purple cloak. Ishizu ended the dance by taking a soldier's spear, placing it on the ground, and spinning around it before holding her arms out when she finished. Everyone cheered at Ishizu's acrobatic skills and threw several gold coins onto the stage, including Kaiba.

"And now ladies and gentlemen," Bakura called out. "The piece de resistance!"

_Here it is! _

_The moment you've been waiting for._

_Here it is!_

_You know exactly what's in store._

_Now it's time to laugh until our sides get sore._

_Now's the time we crown the King of Fools!_

"You all remember last year's king?" Bakura called out as he pointed to a make-shift throne held up by four men. On the throne was a plump man dressed like a jester, and he gave a loud burp. His hat also had a similar design to a crown.

_So make a face that's horrible and frightening!_

_Make a face a gruesome as a gargoyle's wing!_

_For the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fools!_

_Why?_

_Topsy Turvy!_

_Ugly folks, forget your shyness!_

Ishizu then pulled Marik up as he forgot himself and looked at her beautiful and somehow familiar face, as if he'd seen her before in a dream.

_Topsy Turvy!_

_You could soon be called your highness!_

_Put your foulest features on display!_

_Be the king of Topsy Turvy Day!_

One by one, Ishizu removed the mask everyone else was wearing, and at the boos, Ishizu's Harpie, kicked him off the stage. When they got to Marik, Ishizu tugged gently on Marik's hair only to discover that it was real. Everyone then gasped. Only one man in France had such odd coloring.

"That's not a wig!" A woman called out. "It's his real hair! And look at those eyes! That's not natural!"

"It's the bell ringer from Notre Dame!" A man called out as Marik put his hand over his face before Bakura held him back and smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic." Bakura advised. "We asked for one of the most frightening faces in Paris, and here he is. Marik Ishtar, the Egyptian of Notre Dame!"

Bakura then placed the crown on Marik's head as everyone cheered.

_Everybody!_

_Once a year we throw a party here in town! (Hail to the King.)_

_Once a year we turn all Paris upside down! (Oh what a king.)_

_Every man's a king and every king's a clown! (Girl's give a kiss.)_

_Once a year on Topsy Turvy Day! (We've never had a kiss.)_

Marik then waved nervously at Dartz who starred on with angry disapproval.

_And it's a day we do the things that we deplore_

_On the other three-hundred and sixty-four!_

Marik was then taken to a stand with a large turnstile on it as Bakura put a king's cloak on his shoulders as Marik smiled.

_Once a year we love to drop in_

_Where the beer is never stoppin'!_

_For the chance to pop some popinjay!_

Bakura then handed Marik a small gold plated scepter as Marik's smile widened.

_And pick a king who'll put the "top" in_

_Topsy Turvy…_

_Topsy Turvy!_

_Mad and crazy_

_Upsy-daisy_

_Topsy Turvy Day!_

Everyone then cheered as Kaiba joined in. Marik didn't look all that bad to him anyway. In the crusades he had made allies of various people with several different types of hair, eyes, and skin.

"You think he's ugly now?" Kaiba heard Alister ask Valon. "Watch this." And he threw a tomato at Marik's face.

Several people gasped in surprise.

"Now that's ugly!" Alister called out.

"Hail to the king!" Another soldier called out as he tossed another tomato at him.

Several of the people backed away while the crueler ones joined the soldiers in throwing food at him. Marik shielded himself and walk away, but a man with a rope called out, "Hey where are you going? The fun's just beginning!" And he threw the rope around Marik's neck and several others then threw ropes around his left arm. Marik tried to wrench himself free, but they simply threw more ropes around him and tied him to the spinning wheel. Kaiba noticed that none of the gypsies were in the group torturing the poor man. The cruel people then started spinning the wheel around as they began throwing eggs and tomatoes at him again.

()()()()()

Ishizu walked out of her tent, having changed into her usual beige attire when she saw what several people who had cheered moments earlier were doing to that poor boy, Marik.

()()()()()

"Master!" Marik called out to Dartz. "Master, please help me!"

Dartz simply turned away.

Kaiba guessed that Dartz and Marik were closed and approached him.

"Sir!" Kaiba called out. "I request permission to stop this cruelty!"

"In a moment, Captain." Dartz said with an odd smile on his face. "A lesson needs to be learned here."

Suddenly, the people who were torturing Marik stopped as Ishizu walked up.

()()()()()

"Don't be afraid." Ishizu said soothingly as she took off a sash she used for a belt.

Ishizu bent down next to Marik's face and wiped the food off of his face.

"I'm sorry." Ishizu said sadly. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"You, Gypsy Girl!" Dartz called out. "Get down at once!"

"Yes your honor." Ishizu said. "Just as soon as I free this poor boy."

"I forbid it!" Dartz called out.

Ishizu then pulled a knife from a strap on her ankle and cut Marik free in one swift stroke.

"How dare you defy me?" Dartz asked angrily.

"You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people!" Ishizu called back just as angry. He was supposed to uphold the laws, and not let what happened to Marik happen at all! "You speak of justice, and yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!"

"SILENCE!" Dartz shouted.

"JUSTICE!" Ishizu shouted back.

The people who had backed off returned at the shouting and starred in awe at Ishizu while the cruel ones backed away.

Ishizu then helped Marik up.

"Mark my words, Gypsy!" Dartz said angrily. "You will pay for this insolence!"

"Then it appears we crowned the wrong fool." Ishizu said with a smirk. "The only fool I see is you."

Ishizu then took off the jester's hat Marik wore and tossed it at Dartz's feet. Mai then blew a raspberry at Dartz.

()()()()()

"Captain Kaiba, arrest her." Dartz said coldly.

Solemnly, Kaiba snapped his fingers and pointed at Ishizu.

Ten guards then arrived on horseback.

"Now let's see…" Ishizu said. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… So there's ten of you and only one of me." She then began to tear up. "What's a poor orphaned girl to do?" She then pulled a cloth from her shirt and blew into it as a large puff of smoke appeared, and when it cleared, nothing was there.

"Witchcraft…" Kaiba heard Dartz mutter. Personally, Kaiba suspected some kind of magic trick as he didn't believe in magic all that much, but he still liked watching it just for a laugh.

"Oh boys…" Ishizu's voice said with a smile as she stood by several jack-o-lanterns with a smile on her face.

"Get her!" Valon called out as he and Alister rushed after Ishizu. Ishizu then rushed away as the crowd helped carry her off as she waved, and when the guards jumped down, the crowd parted, and they landed flat on their faces.

Ishizu then ran into three guards and used a cage that held a small, old man to help her get some leverage to kick them far away, the cage then broke off, and Ishizu rolled the cage like a lumberjack rolled a log and jumped off as she got behind a man standing on very large stilts who kicked the five guards chasing her in their groins as they all let out extremely high screams.

Ishizu then jumped off as the cage ran into more guards and burst open.

"I'm free!" The old man said. "I'm free!"

The old man then tripped and ended up trapped in a stockade.

"Dang it."

Ishizu then used a large banner to toss a pursuing guard away, and as his helmet fell neatly on her head, she casually tossed it aside, knocking out three guards on horseback. Kaiba had to duck before it cut off his head.

"What a woman." Kaiba said in an impressed voice.

As the remaining guards chased Ishizu and Mai on horseback, Ishizu grabbed a long pole Bakura tossed her, and she handed it to the guard as she ducked down, and they ended up running into the seat Dartz was in and completely destroyed it. Dartz, disheveled but unhurt arose and saw Ishizu stand on a podium, and with a swish of a long cloth, she and Mai disappeared.

()()()()()

It began to rain. Dartz starred angrily at Marik for causing all of this commotion. Marik turned away as Dartz got on his black horse.

"Find her, Captain!" Dartz spat angrily. "I want her alive."

"Yes sir." Kaiba said. "Spread out, men. Find the Gypsy girl, and do not harm her."

()()()()()

Dartz then starred angrily at Marik as he starred down.

"I'm sorry master." Marik said in an ashamed voice. "I will never disobey you again."

Marik then walked back to Notre Dame as several people backed away and commented on how hideous he looked.

Marik entered the church and closed the door as tears filled his face. He had gotten his day out there, and he wished he'd never had it.

* * *

Oh man, poor Marik. Yay Ishizu!

Mai: Eh-hem!

Me: What?


	5. God Help the Outcasts

Chapter 5: God Help the Outcasts

Ishizu walked off in her disguise, having slipped out from behind the cloth and snuck back into her tent.

()()()()()

Kaiba was rubbing Achilles'' neck to keep him calm following the day's excitement when he noticed a familiar cloaked figure walking into Notre Dame and close the door. He smiled slightly.

()()()()()

Ishizu took the cloak off as Mai came in. Ishizu looked around the glorious church. She'd never seen the inside of it before. The gothic architecture was stunning. As she walked, she couldn't help but remember her family in Egypt. Several years ago, when Ishizu was only four, she, her pregnant mother, and her father were separated while making a bid to go to Paris and good fortunes, but they were separated, and only Ishizu made her way to Paris. She had no idea where her parents were, if they were still alive, or even the fate or gender of her unknown sibling.

She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard the noise of armored footsteps and turned around to see Kaiba standing there. In one fluid motion, she grabbed Kaiba's sword with one hand and threw him down with the other as she held the straight blade to Kaiba's chin.

"You." Ishizu said venomously. He was the soldier who had ordered her capture. So what if he helped her, he wasn't on duty then. She knew all the guards and none of them were strong willed enough to defy Dartz.

"Easy, I just shaved this morning." Kaiba said with unnerved humor.

"Oh really?" Ishizu asked. "You missed a spot."

"Alright, just give me a chance to apologize." Kaiba said.

"For what?" Ishizu asked skeptically.

Kaiba then quickly pulled the sword out of Ishizu's hand, which caused her to lose balance and fall over.

"That, for example." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"You sneaky son of a-" Ishizu began, but Kaiba interrupted her.

"Uh-uh-uh. You're in a church."

"Are you always this charming, or am I just lucky?" Ishizu asked as she grabbed a long black candelabra and held it like a staff.

They then had a fight, but Ishizu's weapon was heavier, which gave Kaiba more time to parry.

"Ah, candlelight." Kaiba said. "Privacy. Music. Can't think of a better place for hand-to-hand combat."

As Ishizu got used to the weight, she began to make quicker strikes, cutting Kaiba's parry time in half.

"You fight almost as good as a man." Kaiba remarked.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing about you." Ishizu retorted.

"That's hitting a little below the belt, don't you think?" Kaiba asked.

"No, this is." Ishizu said as she jutted at Kaiba's groin, but Kaiba caught it with his sword. Ishizu then slammed the base of the candelabra into Kaiba's head.

"Touché." Kaiba said with a smirk.

Suddenly, Mai flew down and kicked Kaiba in the stomach.

"Didn't know you took care of an old bird." Kaiba said with a smirk.

"She doesn't take kindly to soldiers." Ishizu explained.

"I noticed." Kaiba said with a grimace. "If I may, I'm Seto Kaiba. I'm named after the Egyptian god of mischief. I'm guessing my parents expected a lot of it out of me."

"Were they right?" Ishizu asked.

"Yup." Kaiba said. "And you are…?"

"Is this an interrogation?" Ishizu asked skeptically.

"It's called an introduction." Kaiba explained.

"You're not arresting me?" Ishizu asked in surprise. None of the other guards were strong-willed enough to defy Dartz.

"Not as long as you're in here." Kaiba explained, gesturing around the church. "I can't."

"You're not at all like the other soldiers." Ishizu said as she put the candelabra back.

"Thank you." Kaiba said with a smile.

"So… If you're not going to arrest me, what do you want?" Ishizu asked.

"I'd settle for your name." Kaiba said with a smile.

"Ishizu." Ishizu said plainly. "My mother named me after the Egyptian Goddess of motherhood and magic."

"Beautiful." Kaiba said. "Well it's better than Seto anyway."

They starred at each other for a few moments and began to get closer when the door burst open, and Dartz strode in.

"Good work Captain." Dartz said. "Now arrest her."

"Claim sanctuary." Kaiba whispered, but Ishizu was too angry to listen or realize what he was doing. "Say it!"

"You tricked me." Ishizu said bitterly.

"I'm waiting Captain." Dartz said with a hint of impatience in his voice.

"I'm sorry sir, she claims sanctuary. There's nothing I can do." Kaiba said, and Ishizu suddenly felt a small spark of respect regrowing in her at the man who refused to arrest someone in a church. Dartz held no such respect.

"Then drag her outside and-" Dartz began when he was cut off by Archdeacon Aknamkanon who appeared to have just walked in.

"Dartz, you will not touch her." Aknamkanon then put a comforting hand on Ishizu's shoulder. "Don't worry. Minister Dartz Frollo learned long ago to respect the sanctity of the church."

Dartz just starred angrily and raised his hand as the guards he brought with him walked off. Aknamkanon then took a firm hold of Kaiba's arm and escorted him out as if he was a little boy who had just sworn in school.

"Alright, I'm going." Kaiba said as he gently pulled his hand free and walked off.

Suddenly, Ishizu felt someone grab her arm and hold it behind her as a head leaned close to her ear.

"You think you've outwitted me." Dartz's voice said calmly into Ishizu's ear. "But I'm a patient man, and gypsies don't do well inside stone walls."

She then felt something suspiciously like Dartz putting his nose to Ishizu's hair.

"What are you doing?" Ishizu asked in a whisper.

"I was just imagining a rope around that beautiful little neck." Dartz said as he rubbed the base of Ishizu's neck when she pushed him away.

"I know what you were imagining!" Ishizu said angrily.

"Such a clever witch." Dartz said with a smirk. "So typical of your kind to twist the truth to cloud the mind with unholy thoughts. Well no matter. You've chosen a magnificent prison, but it's a prison none the less. Step one foot outside and you're mine."

Dartz then walked to the door and closed it sharply, and his words left Ishizu with the revelation that aside from Mai, she was all alone inside the church. She then looked out of a door and found saw a guard say, "Dartz's orders. Post a guard at every door."

Furious with despair, Ishizu thrust the door closed as Mai flew up and landed next to her.

"Don't worry Mai." Ishizu said. "If Dartz thinks he can keep us in here, than he's wrong."

"Don't act rashly, my child." Aknamkanon said calmly. "You created quite a stir at the festival. It would be unwise to arouse Dartz's anger further."

"You saw what he did out there." Ishizu said as she pointed at the door and thought of Marik. "Letting the crowd torture that poor boy! I thought if one person could just stand up to him then…" She sighed. "What do they have against people who are different anyway?"

"You can't right all the wrongs in this world by yourself." Aknamkanon said sagely.

"Well no one out there is going to help." Ishizu said as she thought of Kaiba, who practically trapped her in there in the first place. "That's for sure."

"Perhaps there's someone in here who can." Aknamkanon said as he gestured around him. He then walked off.

Ishizu looked around at the people praying, and she looked up at the statue of the Virgin Mary holding Baby Jesus. She had spent four years of her life being taught to worship the gods of Ancient Egypt, but as she came here, she couldn't help but think… Could Moses have been right? Either way, what god would talk to Ishizu? She was just an orphaned Egyptian dancing girl and a gypsy. Still…

_I don't know if you can hear me,_

_Or if you're even there._

_I don't know if you would listen_

_To a gypsy's prayer._

_Yes I know I'm just an outcast._

_I shouldn't speak to you._

_Still I see your face and wonder,_

'_Were you once an outcast too?'_

Ishizu then thought of poor Marik Ishtar. Condemned just because of his eyes and hair alone. She also thought of Kaiba. In his own way an outcast for his views on justice as they clashed with Dartz's.

_God help the outcasts._

_Hungry from birth._

_Show them a mercy_

_They don't find on Earth._

_God help my people._

_The poor and down trod._

_I thought we all were_

_Children of God…_

"_I ask for wealth._" A boy with green hair who looked a lot like Kaiba said.

"_I ask for fame._" A blond man with blue eyes said as he wore the French flag as a bandana said.

"_I ask for glory to shine on my name._" A man with long pink hair said.

"_I ask for love… I can possess…_" A girl with black hair tied in two buns asked.

"_I ask for God and his angels to bless… Me…_" They all called out, and Ishizu pitied them.

_I ask for nothing._

_I can get by._

_But I know so many_

_Less lucky than I._

_Please help my people._

_The poor and down trod._

_I thought we all were…_

_Children of God…_

_God help the outcast._

_Children of… God . . ._

As Ishizu stood in a reflection of a stain-glass window, Mai walked up and held Ishizu's hand in her talon. She then hugged her. She was startled when the blond man called out, "You, Bell Ringer! What are you doing down here?"

Ishizu then turned to see Marik Ishtar stumble back as he began going back up the stairs.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble already?" The man asked.

"Wait!" Ishizu called out as she rushed after Marik. "I wanted to talk to you!"

She followed Marik up the winding staircase.

* * *

Yay for Kaiba!

Whahh for Marik and Ishizu!

Boo for Dartz!


	6. Marik and Ishizu

Chapter Six: Marik and Ishizu

Isis, Odion, and Joey saw Marik running from an Egyptian girl.

"Look, he's got a friend with him!" Isis said excitedly.

"Yeah, maybe da day wasn't a total loss after all." Joey added as he got distracted by a Harpie Lady following the girl.

"A vision of loveliness." Odion said.

"Da one in da dress aint bad either." Joey said with a coy smile.

The three then hopped down in front of Marik.

"Way ta go, Marik!" Joey called out.

"Congratulations." Odion added.

"I knew you had it in you." Isis said.

"Got da girls chasing ya already!" Joey said with a knowing smile.

"Actually, I-" Marik began.

"You mustn't run too fast, or she'll get away." Odion advised.

"I know." Marik said. "That's what I-"

"Give her some slack; then reel her in." Joey advised. "Then give her some slack,; then reel her in. Then give her some slack-"

"Knock it off Joey!" Isis said agitatedly. "She's a girl not a mackerel"

()()()()()

As his friends argued, Marik rushed off when Ishizu arrived at the top of the stairs.

"There you are." Ishizu gasped. "I was afraid I'd lost you."

"Yes." Marik said quickly. "Well I uh… I have chores to do. It was nice to see you again. Oh!"

Marik rushed off to the bells, embarrassed with himself.

"No wait!" Ishizu called out.

()()()()()

As Ishizu followed Marik, Mai looked at a statue of a man holding a sword when it made a kissy face. Mai then blinked for several minutes and starred harder, but the statue was as unmoving as ever.

()()()()()

"I'm very sorry about this afternoon." Ishizu said as she climbed up after Marik. "I had no idea who you were. I would never in my life have pulled you…" Ishizu got lost in starring at the area Marik had come into. "Up on the . . . Stage."

"What is this place?" Ishizu asked.

"This is where I live." Marik said plainly.

"Did you make all these things yourself?" Ishizu said in awe.

"Most of them." Marik went on.

"It's beautiful." Ishizu said. "Believe me, if I could do this, you wouldn't see me dancing in the street for coins."

"But you're a wonderful dancer." Marik said as he came out from behind a beam holding up a stairway.

"Well, it puts bread on the table anyway." Ishizu sighed. She then looked down at a cloth with two bulges in it. "What's this?"

"No please!" Marik called out as he rushed forward. "They're not finished! I still have to paint them!"

Ishizu pulled the cloth off to see two wooden figures she knew quite well.

"It's the blacksmith." Ishizu said in awe. "And the baker!"

They were so detailed that even without paint, Ishizu could automatically tell who they were.

"You're a surprising person, Marik Ishtar." Ishizu said calmly and happily. "Not to mention lucky. All this room to yourself?"

"Well it's not just me." Marik said modestly. "There's the gargoyles and of course the bells. Would you like to see them?" Marik asked.

"Yes." Ishizu said with a smile. She'd love to see the bells that woke her up in the morning since they were the only things that could wake her when she was really exhausted from outrunning the guards. "You wanna come too Mai?"

Mai nodded her head and flapped forward a little.

"Alright, I'll introduce you." Marik said.

"Never knew there were so many." Ishizu said as she looked at what had to be fifty bells at least.

"That's Little Sophia." Marik said as he pointed at one bell. "And that's Jean-Marie, Anne-Marie, and Louise-Marie. Triplets, you know."

"And who's this?" Ishizu asked as she looked at a bell large enough to house herself in.

"Big Marie." Marik said.

"Hello!" Ishizu said inside the bell, and it rang out several times over with her echo.

"She likes you." Marik commented. "Would you like to see more?"

"How about it, Mai?" Ishizu asked.

Mai shrugged her shoulders.

"We'd love to." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Good." Marik said. "I saved the best for last."

Marik then showed Ishizu to the roof where the sun was setting on the city of Paris, the _entire_ city of Paris.

"My goodness." Ishizu gasped. "I bet the king himself doesn't have a view like this. I could stay up here forever."

"You could you know." Marik said.

"No." Ishizu said. "I couldn't."

"Oh yes you could." Marik insisted. "You have Sanctuary."

"But not freedom." Ishizu responded as she thought of Dartz's words. "Gypsies don't do well inside of stone walls."

"But you're not like other gypsies." Marik said. "They're… Evil."

"Who told you that?" Ishizu asked.

"My master, Dartz." Marik answered. "He raised me.

"How could such a cruel man have raised someone like you?" Ishizu asked in surprise.

"Cruel?" Marik asked. "Oh no. He saved my life. He took me in at a time when no one else would. I'm a monster, you know."

"He told you that?" Ishizu asked.

"Well look at me." Marik said plainly.

Ishizu decided to show Marik that he was no more a monster than anyone else inside that church.

"Give me your hand." Ishizu said. "Just let me see it."

Ishizu took Marik's hand and looked at it.

"Hmm… A long lifeline." Ishizu said. "Oh, and this one means you're shy. Hm… Well that's funny. I don't see any…"

"See any what?" Marik asked.

"Monster lines." Ishizu said. "Not a single one."

"Now look at me." Ishizu said as she held out her hand. "Do you think I'm evil?"

"No!" Marik said quickly as he held her hand. "No, you're good and kind and-"

"And a gypsy." Ishizu said calmly. "And maybe Dartz is wrong about both of us."

()()()()()

"What did she say?" Joey asked as Isis held a large horn to her ear to listen in.

"Dartz's nose is long, and he wears a truss." Isis said.

"Ha!" Joey called out. "I told ya! Pay up!"

"Oh dear." Odion said as he gave Joey a gold coin.

()()()()()

Marik looked at Ishizu and smiled.

"You helped me." Marik said. "Now I'm gonna help you."

"But there's no way out." Ishizu said. "There are soldiers at every door."

"We won't need a door." Marik said as he looked down.

"You mean climb down?" Ishizu asked.

"Sure." Marik said. "Mai can just fly down, and I'll carry you down."

"Okay." Ishizu said. "See you in a minute, Mai."

"Ready?" Marik asked.

"Yes." Ishizu answered.

"Don't be afraid." Marik advised.

"I'm not afraid." Ishizu said as Marik held Ishizu and hopped onto the ledge. "Now I'm afraid."

"The trick is to not look down." Marik said.

"You've done this before?" Ishizu asked.

"No." Marik said plainly as he jumped from one ledge to the next, every time getting closer to the ground.

Eventually, they landed on the lower roof of Notre Dame.

"You're quite an acrobat." Ishizu said with a smile.

"Thank you-oo!" Marik called out as a piece of roof gave way and slid down, taking the two with it.

They then had a wild ride which ended when their sled slammed into a far off wall.

"Check the alley!" Alister called out.

"This way!" Valon replied.

Marik then hopped down, and they arrived at an easy jumping distance from the ground as Ishizu noticed a guard. They hid by pretending to be part of a statue of St. Peter until he passed by, and they relaxed.

"I hope I didn't scare you." Marik said.

"Not for an instant." Ishizu said with a smile as Mai landed next to Ishizu and licked her cheek in affection.

"I'll never forget you, Ishizu." Marik said.

"Come with me." Ishizu said suddenly.

"What?" Marik asked.

"To the Court of Miracles." Ishizu explained. "Leave this place."

"No way." Marik said. "I'm never going back out there again. You saw what happened today. No. This is where I belong."

"Alright, then I'll come to see you." Ishizu said.

"Here?" Marik asked in alarm. "But the soldiers and the… Dartz!"

"I'll come after sunset." Ishizu said.

"But at sunset, I ring the evening mass!" Marik said. "And after that I clean the cloisters and then I ring the vespers, and-"

Ishizu kissed Marik on the cheek.

"Whatever's good for you." Marik said quickly.

"If _you _ever need sanctuary," Ishizu said as she pulled a pendant off of her neck. "This will show you the way."

"But how?" Marik asked.

"Just remember," Ishizu said calmly. "When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand."

Mai then kawed quietly, and the two turned to see soldiers coming.

"Hurry." Marik said. "You must go."

Ishizu then swung down a hanging rope and rushed out of sight with Mai. Marik smiled and climbed back up the roof. As he reached the top, he felt a hand grab his wrist as he turned to see Dartz's new captain of the guard, Seto Kaiba.

"Hi there." Kaiba said. "I'm looking for the gypsy girl. Have you seen her?"

Marik then grunted angrily at Kaiba. He had to get him out of the church before he realized Ishizu was gone.

"Whoa, whoa." Kaiba said calmly. "Easy."

"No soldiers!" Marik called out as he grabbed a torch. "Sanctuary! Get out!"

"Wait, all I want is to-" Kaiba began, but Marik interrupted him.

"Go!" Marik called out as he waved the torch.

"I mean her no harm." Kaiba continued to say very calmly.

"GO!" Marik shouted as he thrust the torch at him, but Kaiba trapped it to the wall with his sword.

"Look," Kaiba said seriously. "You tell her for me that I didn't mean to trap her here, but it was the only way I could save her life."

Marik knew he was telling him the truth from the way he starred into Marik's eyes.

"Will you tell her that?" Marik asked. "Will you?"

"If you go now." Marik said regaining his calmness.

"I'll go." Kaiba said. "Now will you put me down, please? You're stronger than you look."

"Sorry." Marik said. "I don't know my own strength sometimes."

Marik then let Kaiba down gently as he walked off before turning back to Marik.

"Oh and one more thing. Tell Ishizu that she's very lucky."

"Why?" Marik asked.

"To have a friend like you." Kaiba said with a smile as he sheathed his sword.

Marik then blinked. That was the nicest thing a guard ever said to him.

* * *

Whoo-hoo! Ishizu's free! … Uh-oh. Dartz is gonna be mad.


	7. Heaven's Light and Hellfire

Chapter Seven: Heaven's Light and Hellfire

Marik walked around the balcony when Joey, Odion, and Isis rushed up.

"Hey, hey!" Joey called out. "There he is!"

Everyone then cheered, but Marik was a bit more reserved.

"You ejected that tin-plated buffoon with great pizzazz." Odion said with a smile.

"Da nerve of him." Joey said. "Snooping around here trying ta steal your girl."

"My girl?" Marik asked skeptically.

"Ishizu." Isis said. "Dark hair. Works with a Harpie Lady. Remember?"

"Boy I do!" Joey said with a mischievous smile. "Way ta go lover boy!"

"Lover boy?" Marik asked with a laugh. "No, no, no."

"Oh, don't be so modest." Isis said like a proud mother.

"Look," Marik said. "I appreciate what you're all trying to do, but let's not fool ourselves. Scariest face in Paris, remember? I don't think I'm her type."

Marik then went to his model of Paris and looked at a loving pair on a bridge.

_So many times out there_

_I've watched a happy pair_

_Of lovers watching in the night._

_They had a kind of glow around them._

_It almost looked like heaven's light._

Marik then looked at the miniature of himself.

_I knew I'd never know_

_That warm and loving glow,_

_Though I might wish with all my might._

_No face as hideous as my face_

_Was ever meant for heaven's light._

Marik then began to feel a little hopeful and began carving a new miniature.

_But suddenly an angel has smiled at me_

_And kissed my face without a trace of fright._

_I dare to dream that she might even care for me,_

_And as I ring these bells tonight…_

_My cold dark tower seems so bright…_

_I swear it must be heaven's light . . ._

Marik finished making the miniature of Ishizu and set it next to himself as he rang the bell for evening mass.

()()()()()

In Dartz's home, he looked out of the window. For some dark reason, he couldn't get the gypsy girl Ishizu out of his mind.

_Beata Maria, you know I am a righteous man._

_Of my virtue I am justly proud._

_Beata Maria, you know I'm so much purer than_

_The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd._

_Then tell me Maria, why I see her dancing there._

_Why her smoldering still scorch my soul._

_I feel her! I see her!_

_The sun caught in her raven hair_

_Is blazing in me out of all control!_

It then appeared to Dartz as if Ishizu was dancing within the fire, like some sort of demon.

_Like fire! Hellfire! This fire in my skin._

_This burning desire is turning me to sin._

Dartz then stroked his face with the scarf Ishizu had given him that day when several men in red robes appeared.

_It's not my fault! I'm not to blame!_

_It is the gypsy girl, the witch, who set this flame!_

_It's not my fault! If in God's plan,_

_He made the devil so much stronger than a man…!_

_Protect me, Maria! Don't let this siren cast her spell. _

_Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bones._

_Destroy this Ishizu and let her taste the fires of hell,_

_Or else let her be mine and mine alone…_

As Dartz thought, Valon suddenly walked in.

"Minister Dartz, the gypsy has escaped." Dartz explained.

"What?" Dartz asked in shock.

"She's nowhere in the cathedral." Valon went on. "She's gone."

"But how?" Dartz asked in disbelief. "I… Never mind! Get out you idiot!"

Valon then left as Dartz turned back to the fire.

"I'll find her." Dartz said darkly. "I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris!"

_Hellfire! Dark fire! Now gypsy it's your turn!_

_Choose me or your fire! Be mine or you will burn!_

Dartz then got a pang of conscience as a small part of him noted that Ishizu hadn't actually done anything wrong.

_God have mercy on her…_

_God have mercy on me…_

_But she will be mine or she… Will… BURN…!_

Dartz then knelt down in exhaustion as the fire in the fire place went out.

* * *

Well, Dartz is sick.


	8. Captain Seto Kaiba

Chapter 8: Captain Seto Kaiba

The day after the Feast of Fools, Kaiba and his men awaited Dartz's arrival.

_About time._ Kaiba thought as Dartz's carriage pulled up, and Dartz walked out.

"Morning sir." Kaiba said.

Dartz just groaned.

"Are you alright?" Kaiba asked.

"I had a little trouble with the fireplace." Dartz muttered.

"Alright." Kaiba said. "Your orders?"

"Find the gypsy girl." Dartz said.

()()()()()

The guards barged into a bakery and discovered a secret room full of gypsies. They were pulled up to Dartz and Kaiba.

"Ten pieces of silver for the gypsy Ishizu." Dartz said holding up the pieces. The gypsies said nothing.

"Lock them up!" Dartz called out angrily.

()()()()()

The guards overturned a carriage full of gypsies.

"Twenty pieces of silver for the gypsy Ishizu!" Dartz said as he held up the pieces and jingled them. The gypsies said nothing.

"Take them away!" Dartz spat.

Kaiba began to get fed up with Dartz's foolishness, which he believed bordered on insanity.

()()()()()

At a farm with a windmill on the barn, Ishizu, in her disguise, looked at a house Dartz and his men had gone into, many claimed Dartz had gone mad. Ishizu believed he just stopped hiding his insanity.

()()()()()

"We found this gypsy talisman on your property." Dartz said as he held up the said talisman. "Have you been harboring gypsies?"

"Our home is always open to the weary traveler." The miller said.

"I am placing you and your family under house arrest until I get to the bottom of this." Dartz said automatically. "If what you say is true, and you are innocent, then you have nothing to fear."

"But we are innocent!" The miller pleaded as his wife and children backed away. "I assure you, we know nothing of these gypsies!"

Dartz left with Kaiba as he blocked the door with one of the guard's spears.

"Burn it." Dartz said coldly to Kaiba.

"What?" Kaiba asked in shocked outrage.

"Until it smolders." Dartz said. "There people are traitors and must be made examples of."

Dartz then handed a lit torch to Kaiba.

"With all due respect sir," Kaiba said coldly. "I wasn't trained to murder the innocent."

"But you were trained to follow _orders._" Dartz countered.

Kaiba looked at the house and put the torch in a barrel of water.

"Insolent coward." Dartz muttered.

Dartz grabbed another torch and set the mill on fire as it quickly spread throughout the rest of the house. Kaiba gasped in alarm. Dartz had completely lost his mind! Kaiba jumped out of the way of a falling blade of the windmill and jumped through the window. A moment later, Kaiba burst out holding the children, and he was followed quickly by the miller and his wife.

()()()()()

As the family walked off, the guard, Valon, knocked Kaiba down as Alister held his head up as Dartz approached.

"The sentence for insubordination is death." Dartz said simply. "Such a pity. You threw away such a promising career."

"Consider it my highest honor, sir." Kaiba said solemnly as Valon prepared to cut Kaiba's head off.

Ishizu quickly picked up a stone, put it in a sling she had and tossed it at Dartz's horse, so it reared and bucked Dartz off. This gave Kaiba enough time to wrench himself free, knock Valon and Alister out, and jump on top of the horse and have it run off.

"Get him, and don't hit my horse!" Dartz shouted. Several bowmen then aimed and shot at Kaiba. As he crossed a bridge, an arrow hit his back dangerously near where his heart was. Kaiba gasped and fell off the horse into the river below. As the guards prepare to fire more arrows, Dartz held them back.

"Don't waste your arrows!" Dartz said. "Let the traitor rot in his watery grave! Find the girl. If you have to burn the city to the ground, then so be it."

Ishizu waited at the bottom of the bridge for the guards to pass, and Ishizu then dived in. Kaiba was weakened and unable to float thanks to his armor, so Ishizu took it off to reveal his white undershirt and pulled him up to the surface. She then managed to gently pull the arrow out. Kaiba needed help, and she could only turn to one person.

* * *

Well… This doesn't look good.


	9. A Guy Like You

Chapter 9: A Guy Like You

Dartz was true to his word. Within days, the entire city was orange with fire. Dartz rode up to the guards.

"Sir," the new captain Valon said. "We searched everywhere, and there's still no sign of the gypsy girl."

"I had the entire cathedral surrounded." Dartz muttered to himself. "Guards at every door. There was no way she could have escaped… Unless…"

He looked up at the bell tower of the nearby Notre Dame.

()()()()()

At the bell tower, Isis, Odion, and Joey were watching Dartz set the city ablaze in search of Ishizu.

"Oh, it doesn't look good." Ishizu remarked.

"It's hopeless." Odion said sadly. "Absolutely hopeless."

"You're telling me!" Joey said as he was playing poker with a pigeon. "I'm losing to a bird!"

"I meant that poor gypsy girl." Odion said calmly. "I'm beginning to fear the worst."

"I know." Isis said rationally. "But don't say anything to upset Marik. He's nervous enough already."

"Yeah, you're right." Joey agreed. "We better lighten up."

"Shh." Odion said. "Here he comes."

"Now just stay calm." Isis advised.

"Not a word." Odion added.

"Easy does it." Joey said with a smile.

"Stone faced." Odion finished as Marik arrived at the window and looked down.

"Any sign of her?" Marik asked.

Odion's lip trembled, and he burst like a balloon.

"Oh, it's a lost cause!" Odion cried out. "She could be anywhere! In the stocks! In the dungeon! On the rack! Oh god!"

Odion cried into Marik's shoulder as he nervously comforted him.

"Nice work, Odion." Isis said sarcastically.

"No, he's right." Marik said. "What are we gonna do?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Joey said with a smile. "If I know Ishizu, she's two steps ahead of Dartz and well outta harm's way."

"You really think so?" Marik asked.

"Hey, when things cool off, she'll be back." Joey said reassuringly. "You'll see?"

"What makes you so sure?" Marik asked.

"Because she likes you." Isis said kindly as she ruffled Marik's hair. "We always said you were the cute one."

"I thought I was da cute one." Joey said with a full mouth after eating some chicken, cheese, and bread.

"No, you're the scrawny, stupid one with the big mouth!" Isis said exasperatedly.

"What are ya saying exactly?" Joey asked.

"Trust us Marik; you've got nothing to worry about." Isis said.

"Yeah, you're irresistible." Marik added.

"Knights in shining armor certainly aren't her type." Odion said with a chuckle.

"And those guys are a dime a dozen." Joey said as he cooked a weenie over a close burning building. "But you, you're one of a kind. Look…"

_Paris, the city of lovers is glowing this evening._

_True that's because it's on fire, but still there's L'Amour._

Joey pulled the weenie back and ate it.

_Somewhere out there in the night,_

_Her heart is also a light._

_And I know da guy she just might be burning for…_

Joey then tossed Marik an ace of hearts playing card.

_A guy like you,_

_She's never known kid._

_A guy like you,_

_A girl does not meet every day!_

_You've got a look that's all your own kid!_

_Could there be two like you?_

_No way!_

_Those other guys that she could dangle_

_All look the same from every boring point of view!_

_You're a surprise from every angle!_

_Mon dieu above!_

_She's gotta love_

_A guy like you!_

Odion then put his hand on Marik's shoulder.

_A guy like you gets extra credit_

_Because it's true you've got a certain something more…_

"You're aces kid!" Joey said with a smile.

Isis then squeezed Marik's cheek like an aunt.

"_You see that face." _ Ishizu said. _"You don't forget it_."

_Want something new?_

_That's you for sure._

"_We all have gaped at some Adonis._" Isis said.

"_But then we crave a meal more nourishing to chew…_" Odion called out.

"And since you're shaped like a croissant it's…"

_No question of_

_She's gotta love_

_A guy like you!_

"_Call me a hopeless romantic, but Marik, I feel it._" Isis said kindly.

"_She wants you so any moment, she'll walk through that door… For . . ._" Odion continued.

_A guy so swell._

_A guy like you._

_With all you bring her._

_A cool Giselle._

_It's like she fell_

_For you-know-who!_

_You man the bells._

_You're the bell ringer!_

_When she wants oo-la-la._

_And she wants you-la-la._

_She will discover guy,_

_You're one heck of a guy._

_Who wouldn't love a guy…? Like… You . . .?_

"Marik?" Ishizu asked from downstairs. "Marik Ishtar?"

()()()()()

"Ishizu?" Marik asked as he rushed down the stairs.

"Ishizu!" Marik said happily. "You're alright! I knew you'd come back!"

The two hugged each other.

"You've done so much for me already my friend." Ishizu said. "I must ask your help one more time."

"Yes, anything." Marik said with a smile.

Ishizu and Mai then brought in an unarmored and unconscious Seto Kaiba.

"This is Kaiba." Ishizu said as she helped Mai carry him. "He's wounded and a fugitive like me. He can't go on much longer. I know he'll be safe here. Please, can you hide him?"

"This way." Marik said as he felt sympathy for Kaiba as well even with their brief encounter.

Marik took them to where his own bed, a blanket and pillow on the floor, was, and Ishizu and Mai set him down.

"Uh…" Kaiba groaned. "Ishizu?"

"Shh." Ishizu said. "You'll hide here until you're strong enough to move."

Marik backed away and looked. There was something there.

Ishizu took out a wine flash, pulled off the cork.

"Great." Kaiba said with a smirk. "I could use a drink."

She poured it on Kaiba's wound.

"Ah!" Kaiba groaned. "Yes. Feels like a 1470's burgundy. Not a good year."

"That family owes you their lives." Ishizu said as she sewed up Kaiba's wound. "You're either the single bravest soldier I've ever seen or the bravest."

"Ex-soldier." Kaiba said with a smirk. "Remember? Why is it that every time we meet, I end up bleeding?"

"You're lucky." Ishizu said as she finished stitching up Kaiba's wound. "That arrow almost pierced your heart."

Kaiba took Ishizu's hand and put it next to his heart.

"I'm not so sure it didn't." Kaiba said softly. The two then leaned in and kissed.

Marik walked back. His first impression had been right. He and Ishizu were just friends. After all, what self-respecting woman like Ishizu would ever love someone like him.

_I knew I'd never know_

_That warm and loving glow,_

_Though I might wish with all my might._

_No face as hideous as my face…_

_Was ever meant for heaven's light…_

Marik took out the Ace of Hearts card Joey gave him and quietly tore it in two and dropped the pieces as he left to give the two lovers some privacy.

* * *

Oh, poor Marik.


	10. Marik and Kaiba

Chapter Ten: Marik and Kaiba

After Kaiba and Ishizu's kiss, Mai began to squawk frantically. Marik and Ishizu looked out the window to see Dartz walking to Notre Dame.

"Dartz is coming." Marik said urgently. "You must leave. Quick, follow me."

Marik then led Ishizu to a back door out of the cathedral.

"Go down the South Tower steps!" Marik instructed as Ishizu talked to take Marik's hands.

"Be careful my friend." Ishizu said. "Promise you won't let anything happen to Kaiba."

"I promise." Marik said. Ishizu may not love him, but he owed their friendship enough to make sure her heart wasn't broken like his.

"Thank you." Ishizu said with a smile and left.

"We've gotta stash the stiff!" Isis said urgently as Dartz got closer.

Marik grabbed Kaiba by the arms and slowly pulled him under the table. Just after he had concealed him, Dartz appeared at the door.

"Oh, M-Master." Marik said nervously. "I didn't think you'd be coming."

"I'm never too busy to share a meal with you, dear boy." Dartz said with a dark and sinister smile. "I brought a little… Treat."

Dartz then set down a basket of food. He then cleared his throat and Marik remembered that it was his job to set the table.

"Oh!" Marik said. "Sorry."

Marik quickly grabbed two cups and two plates as a loose bowl fell and smashed one of the other plates as Marik hastily set the table.

"Is there something troubling you, Marik?" Dartz asked as he placed a bushel of grapes on Marik's plate.

"Oh, no." Marik said quickly.

"Oh but there is." Dartz said as he ate a grape from his own bushel. "I know there is."

A grape rolled off of the table, and Marik went to pick it up, noticing Kaiba's unconscious head clearly visible from Marik's position, and that only made him more nervous.

"I think… You're hiding something." Dartz said calmly.

"Oh no Master." Marik said as calmly as he could.

"You're not eating boy." Dartz pointed out, and Marik stuffed his face with grapes.

"It's very good." Marik said with a full mouth. "Thank you."

"Hm…" Kaiba groaned from under the table.

"Mm…" Marik said the same way Kaiba had done to make it seem like the noise was from him.

"Uh…" Kaiba said as Marik kicked him unconscious and pretended to be coughing.

"Seeds." Marik said meekly.

Dartz just starred at Marik.

"What's different in here?" Dartz asked.

"Nothing… Sir." Marik said quickly, which would be true if Kaiba wasn't hiding under the table.

"Isn't this one new?" Dartz asked as he picked up the completed Ishizu figure. "It's awfully good. Looks very much like the gypsy girl."

Marik's eyes widened as he realized now that Dartz had learned how Ishizu got away from the church.

"I know you helped her ESCAPE!" Dartz shouted as he slammed his fist on the table. "And now all Paris is burning because of _you_!"

"She was kind to me, Master." Marik said timidly in self-defense.

"YOU IDIOT!" Dartz called out as he smashed Marik's model in his anger, with a dark look in his face that made Marik understand more and more what Ishizu meant by calling Dartz a cruel man… A monster. "That wasn't kindness it was cunning! She's a gypsy!"

Dartz then grabbed Marik by his shirt and pulled him up.

"Gypsies aren't capable of real love!" Dartz spat. "Think boy! Think of your mother!"

Dartz then seemed to recompose himself and gently let go of Marik.

"But what chance could a poor discolored child like you have against her heathen treachery?" Dartz asked rhetorically. "Well, never you mind, Marik Ishtar."

Dartz pulled out a knife and stabbed the Ishizu figure with it.

"She'll be out of our lives soon enough."

The figurine caught on fire when Dartz held it to a fallen candle.

"I will free you from her evil spell." Dartz continued as he flicked the burning piece of wood at the floor. "She will torment you no longer."

"What do you mean?" Marik asked.

"I know where her hideout is." Dartz said calmly. "And tomorrow at dawn, I attack with a thousand men."

Dartz then left as Marik watched in horror.

As soon as Dartz left, a recovered Kaiba came out, holding his arm stiffly.

"We have to find the Court of Miracles before daybreak." Kaiba said weakly but surely. "If Dartz gets there first… Are you coming with me?"

"I can't." Marik said sadly.

"I thought you were Ishizu's friend." Kaiba berated.

"Dartz is my master." Marik countered. "I can't disobey him again."

"She stood up for you." Kaiba called out. "You have a funny way of showing gratitude."

Marik said nothing.

"Well I'm not just going to sit by and watch Dartz massacre innocent people!" Kaiba said angrily as he walked off. "You so what you think is right."

Marik looked at his three stone friends as they looked at him in a very familiar way.

"What?" Marik asked agitatedly. "What am I supposed to do? Go out there and rescue the girl from the jaws of death, and the whole town will cheer like I'm some kind of a hero? She already has her knight in shining armor, and it's not me!" Marik then sighed. "Dartz was right. Dartz was right about everything, and I'm tired of trying to be someone I'm not."

Marik looked at his hand and remembered Ishizu's words that maybe Dartz was wrong about both of them. He then looked at the charred remains of the Ishizu figurine and realized that that was what could happen to the real Ishizu. He then took out the pendant Ishizu gave him and sighed. Isis tapped Marik's shoulder and handed him his cloak.

"I must be out of my mind." Marik muttered as he put the cloak on.

()()()()()

Kaiba opened the door of Notre Dame as Marik's head appeared at the doorway.

"Kaiba." Marik whispered.

"Ah!" Kaiba called out as he clutched his chest.

"It's me." Marik said.

"Glad you changed your mind." Kaiba said with a smile.

"I'm not doing it for you; I'm doing it for her." Marik whispered.

"You know where she is?" Kaiba asked.

"No." Marik said. "But she said that this will help us find them."

Marik then showed Kaiba a woven pendent. In the middle were a cross and several other designs.

"Good, good, good." Kaiba said eagerly. "Ah, great! What is it?"

"I'm not sure." Marik said as he observed it.

"Hm…" Kaiba said. "Must be some sort of code. Arabic? No. Ancient Greek? No."

"When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand." Marik muttered as his eyes widened.

"What?" Kaiba asked.

"It's the city!" Marik proclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba asked.

"It's a map see?" Marik asked. "The cross is the cathedral, and this long blue line surrounding it is the river, and this is-"

"I've never seen a map like this." Kaiba said skeptically.

"I've lived up in the bell tower for twenty years!" Marik whispered angrily. "And I think I know what the city looks like from above, and this is it!"

The two then sighed to relieve any negative feelings and Kaiba decided to go with Marik's idea.

"Alright." Kaiba said. "Okay. If you say it's a map, fine, it's a map. But I if we're going to find Ishizu, then we have to work together. Truce?"

Kaiba patted Marik lightly on the back.

"Well…" Marik said. "Okay."

Marik slapped Kaiba hard on the back, where his arrow wound was still sore.

"Ahh!" Kaiba groaned.

"Sorry." Marik said as he pulled his hood up.

"No you're not." Kaiba said like he and Marik were brothers.

* * *

Hooray! They're working together! Boo it's a-ACK!


	11. The Court of Miracles

Chapter Eleven: The Court of Miracles

Eventually, Kaiba and Marik arrived at the graveyard, and Kaiba stopped in front of a large tomb with a cross on it.

"This looks like the symbol on the map." Kaiba observed.

"But what does it mean?" Marik asked.

"I'm not sure." Kaiba said as he held a torch Marik brought close to the tomb. "I can make out an inscription, but it's going to take a few minutes to translate it."

Heeding a sudden impulse, Marik shoved away the cover of the tomb to reveal a long dark stairway.

"Yeah well, or we could just go down those stairs." Kaiba said as they both looked down.

They walked down the stairs and ended up in a dank, dark sewer. The water was a murky green and skeletons framed the walls.

"Is this the Court of Miracles?" Marik asked.

"Off hand, I'd say this is the Court of Ankle-Deep Sewage." Kaiba said sarcastically. "We must be in the old catacombs." They walked through the sewage and looked at the skeletons. "Kinda makes you wish you got out more often, eh Marik?"

"Not me." Marik said as they walked through the sewer water. "I just want to warn Ishizu and get back to the Bell Tower before we get into anymore trouble."

"Speaking of trouble, we should have run into some by now." Kaiba said as he held the torch up.

"What do you mean?" Marik asked.

"You know a guard or a booby trap…" Suddenly, the torch Kaiba was holding went out. "Or an ambush."

Suddenly, several torches came on and several people in skeleton costumes jumped down and restrained the two as Bakura arrived, but he looked much darker than usual, as if he's either smeared himself with dirt or else he bathed himself in milk for when he went outside. He was now dressed in a long red cloak with blue pants.

"Well, well, well." Bakura said with a sneer. "What have we here?

"Trespassers!" The gypsies called out as they removed their skull masks. "Spies!"

"We're not spies-!" Kaiba said before the gypsies gagged him.

"You've got to listen to-!" Marik tried to say before they gagged him as well.

"Don't interrupt me." Bakura said with a dark smile. "You're very clever to have found our hideaway. Unfortunately, you won't live to tell the tale."

_Maybe you've heard of a terrible place_

_Where the scoundrels of Paris collect and affair!_

_Maybe you've heard of that mythical place called the Court of Miracles!_

"_Hello, you're there._" Bakura said with a malicious grin.

_Where the lame can walk,_

_And the blind can see._

"_But the dead don't talk._" Bakura chuckled as Marik and Kaiba were tied up. "_So you won't be around to reveal what you've found._"

_We have a method for spies and intruders_

_Rather like hornets protecting their hive!_

_Here in the Court of Miracles_

_Where it's a miracle if you get out alive!_

Marik and Bakura were brought out to a large room where several gypsy wagons and the like were. Near the entrance was a gallows.

"Gather around everybody!" Bakura called out. "There's good _noose_ tonight! It's a double header! A couple of Dartz's spies!"

The gypsies booed.

"And not just any spies." Bakura continued. "It's the captain of the guard and his loyal bellowing henchman."

_Justice is swift in the Court of Miracles._

_I am the lawyers and judge all in one!_

_We like to get the trial over with quickly_

_Because it's the sentence that's really the fun!_

"Any last words?" Bakura asked.

All Marik and Kaiba could say were mumbled attempts at explanation.

"That's what they all say." Bakura said with a smirk.

_Now that we've seen all the evidence_-

"Wait, I object!" Bakura's younger brother, Ryou called out.

"Overruled!" Bakura called out.

"I object!" Ryou continued.

"Shut it!" Bakura shouted.

"Dang." Ryou whimpered as he backed off.

_We find you totally innocent,_

_Which is the worst crime of all._

_So you're going to hang!_

Before Bakura could pull the lever and end Kaiba and Marik's lives, Ishizu ran out calling "STOP!"

Ishizu then climbed up and approached Bakura.

"These men aren't spies. They're our friends."

"Well why didn't they say so?" Bakura asked like a father to a daughter.

"WE DID SAY SO!" Kaiba and Marik replied angrily as Ishizu took the gags off.

"This is the soldier who saved the miller's family." Ishizu said as she untied Kaiba and then went to Marik. "And Marik helped me escape the cathedral."

"We came to warn you!" Kaiba cried out as he walked to the edge of the gallows. "Dartz is coming! He says he knows where you're hiding, and he's attacking at dawn with a thousand men!"

"Then let's waste no time." Ishizu said calmly. "We must leave immediately."

Everyone agreed and rushed to get their belongings.

"You took a terrible risk coming here." Ishizu said as she, Kaiba, and Marik came down. "It may not exactly show, but we're grateful."

Ishizu then hugged Kaiba as he smiled before Marik caught Kaiba looking at him and backed off and gently pushed Marik in front of Ishizu.

"Don't thank me." Kaiba said. "Thank Marik. Without his help, I would have never found my way here."

"Nor would I!" Dartz's voice ran out as he appeared on top of the gallows with several guards running down and capturing every gypsy, including Mai, Kaiba, Ishizu, and Marik.

"After over twenty years of searching," Dartz said with relish. "The Court of Miracles is mine at last!"

Dartz then walked up to Marik and grinned in a way that made Marik uneasy.

"Dear Marik Ishtar, I always knew you'd someday be of use to me." Dartz said his dark smile growing by the second.

"No." Marik whispered in fear.

"What are you talking about?" Ishizu asked angrily.

"Why the poor boy led me right to you, my dear." Dartz said with a smirk.

"You're a liar." Ishizu said.

"Oh, he didn't know he was leading me, my men and I were already ready, and we simply followed the two in." Dartz said. He then turned to Kaiba. "And look what else I've caught in my net. Captain Seto Kaiba back from the dead. Another "miracle" no doubt. I shall remedy that."

Dartz then turned to the whole crowd of captured gypsies.

"There'll be a little bonfire in the village square tomorrow, and you're all invited to attend." Dartz said with a widening smirk. "Lock them up."

"No." Marik begged as he knelt before his master's feet and held up his arms. "Please Master!"

Dartz simply looked down angrily at Marik, and Marik sobbed.

"Take him back to the bell tower." Dartz said as two guards picked Marik up, and he didn't fight them. "And make sure he stays there."

* * *

Oh man, this is so bad! … And only two chapters left! Come on Marik, do something!


	12. The Bonfire at Notre Dame

Chapter Twelve: The Bonfire at Notre Dame

The drums rolled as Ishizu, in a plain white dress was dragged to a stake and tied to it. Beneath the stake, on top of the gallows, was enough firewood to possibly torch all of Notre Dame.

"The prisoner, Ishizu, has been found guilty of the crime of witchcraft!" Dartz proclaimed as he held out a piece of parchment. "The sentence… Death."

Everyone, good and bad, protested against Ishizu's sentencing except the guards, acting as if they had no free will aside from ways to torture prisoners.

In his personal cage, Kaiba pulled at the bars in a vain attempt to free himself. Aknamkanon tried to stop this, but his path was blocked by the guards.

Dartz then took a lighted torch from the executioner.

"The time has come, Gypsy." Dartz said calmly. "You stand upon the brink of the abyss." Dartz then added under his breath, "Yet even now it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world and the next. Choose me or the fire."

Ishizu was disgusted. This man not only tried to kill her multiple times, but he actually thought she would choose him over dying? Ishizu spat in Dartz's face.

"The gypsy, Ishizu, has refused to repent!" Dartz called out. "This evil witch has put the soul of every citizen in Paris in danger!"

()()()()()

Marik was completely chained to the pillars of Notre Dame, only able to watch what was happening. Marik hung there limply while his friends tried to free him.

"Come on Marik!" Joey called out as he tugged at one of the chains. "Snap outta it!"

"Your friends are down there!" Odion urged.

"It's all my fault." Marik said in a defeated voice.

"You've got to break these chains!" Isis called out.

"I can't." Marik said. "I'd try, but what difference would it make?"

"You can't let Dartz win!" Odion called out as well.

"He already has." Marik said in the same defeated voice.

"So you're giving up?" Joey asked as he grabbed Marik's shirt. "That's it?"

"There chains aren't what are holding you back, Marik Ishtar!" Isis said angrily.

"Leave me alone." Marik said as he looked away.

"Alright, fine." Joey said as he walked to where he usually stood in the cathedral. "We'll leave you alone."

"After all, we're only made of stone." Odion said as he took his place.

"We just thought you'd be made of something stronger." Isis said as she took her place.

Marik looked sadly at his unmoving friends and back down at the square. Maybe his friends had a point. He walked as close as he could to the edge.

"It is time to send this unholy witch back where she belongs!" Dartz shouted as he placed a torch on several pieces of drift wood, and it began to catch fire.

Everyone objected.

"NOOOO!" Marik called out as he pulled on the chains, and the whole cathedral began to shake, and the bells rang in a way that showed Marik Ishtar's anger. The anger of the Egyptian of Notre Dame!

The flames crept higher around Ishizu as she coughed, and Marik eventually began to break the chains. Eventually, the pillars holding Marik back collapsed, and he grabbed a nearby rope and swung it around a gargoyle's head as he swung down to Ishizu! After a few seconds he grabbed her and swung back up to the cathedral, barely hearing Dartz's shout of, "MARIK ISHTAR!"

Marik meanwhile climbed up to the highest ledge of Notre Dame, held Ishizu high over his head and shouted, "SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!"

The entire crowd, minus Dartz and the guards, cheered.

()()()()()

"Captain!" Dartz said as he turned to Valon.

"Sir?" Valon asked.

"Seize the cathedral!" Dartz ordered.

()()()()()

In one of the high up rooms of the cathedral, Marik set Ishizu down on a bed.

"Don't worry." Marik said calmly. "You'll be safe here."

Ishizu's unconscious form didn't respond, but Marik guessed she'd be okay in a few minutes.

He then heard the charge on Notre Dame and hopped down to a large pot of molten metal. He threw down a beam that destroyed Dartz's carriage.

()()()()()

Dartz meanwhile took charge as several men began to run.

"Come back you cowards!" Dartz then turned to the guards that remained as he drew a long sword. "You men, pick up that beam. Break down the door."

When all of Dartz's men except Alister left, Kaiba grabbed him in a choke hold.

"Alone at last." Kaiba said with a smirk as he bopped Alister on the head and took his keys.

Kaiba then freed himself grabbed a stray spear and stood on top of his former prison.

"Citizens of Paris," Kaiba called out. "Dartz has persecuted our people, ransacked _our_ city, and now he has declared war on Notre Dame herself! Will we allow it?"

The people cried out, "NO!" They then freed all the gypsies, and together, they fought against Dartz's men.

()()()()()

"I think the Calvary's here!" Joey said with a smirk as they all watched on. He then looked at Kaiba fighting one of the guards with his spear.

"Hey, aint that Keble?" Joey asked.

"Saiba." Isis corrected.

"Kaiba!" Marik happily corrected as he punched a guard out with a hard blow to the face.

Marik then shoved a large brick down that destroyed a ladder and sent several men to the ground while Odion tentatively dropped a block on another guard's head.

"Sorry." Odion said. "Sorry."

Joey then swallowed a stone and jumped to the ledge and began shooting out the pellets, and that made several men who weren't knocked out by them retreat.

()()()()()

"Harder!" Dartz called out as Valon's men continued to ram the door.

Kaiba meanwhile used his spear to knock out three guards at once with a side blow to their stomachs.

During the fighting, the old man from the festival ended up freed when the stock he was trapped in were broken open, and he walked out.

"I'm free!" He called out. "I'm free!"

The old men then fell into a sewer.

"Dang it."

Joey and Odion then tossed a catapult they had made down, but it landed upside down.

"Are you sure that's how it works?" Odion asked when the twine they used to hold the end with the bricks back snapped, and it squashed several guards.

"Works for me!" Joey said with a smirk.

()()()()()

Kaiba meanwhile fought Valon with a sword he'd grabbed an managed to get him dazed with an elbow to the stomach, and Mai kicked him in the rear, so he fell in front of Achilles' rear.

"Achilles, sit." Kaiba said with a smirk, and the dragon sat on Valon's head.

"Oh, get it off me!" Valon shrieked. "Get it off of me!"

()()()()()

Meanwhile, Isis had several of the pigeons that had pestered her fly down at the men.

"Fly my pretties!" Isis called out. "Fly! Fly! Ahhahha!"

The pigeons then pecked at the men until they rushed off.

()()()()()

"Put your backs into it!" Dartz ordered, and the door began to give.

()()()()()

Marik, Joey, Odion, and Isis put a pulley device on the cauldron of molten metal and all three pulled on it, and it spilled over and covered the ground around the cathedral in molten metal that'd burn anything that came near it. Several of the men rushed off in fear while the peasants stepped back and cheered.

()()()()()

Dartz snuck in through the door and began to walk to where Marik stayed.

"Dartz, have you gone mad?" Aknamkanon asked angrily. "I will not tolerate this assault on the house of God!"

"Silence, you old fool!" Dartz spat as he tossed Aknamkanon down.

"The Egyptian and I have unfinished business to attend to, and this time, you will not interfere." Dartz said as he closed the door to the bell tower and locked it behind him. It was time to finish what he'd started twenty years ago.

* * *

Oh boy. Poor Marik and Ishizu.


	13. The Monster and the Man

Chapter Thirteen: The Monster and the Man

Marik rushed into the room he was keeping Ishizu in.

"We've done it, Ishizu!" Marik called out triumphantly. "We've beaten them back! Come and see!"

He then stopped when he noticed that Ishizu wasn't moving at all.

"Ishizu, wake up." Marik said. "You're safe now."

No response.

"Ishizu?" Marik asked. He felt Ishizu's cheek, and it was as cold as ice. "Oh no."

Marik scooped some water from a basin and tried to pour it down Ishizu's mouth. It didn't go in. It just trickled all over her chin and cheeks.

"Oh no…" Marik caressed Ishizu's body. He understood that she didn't love him like that, but she cared for him like a sister, and he accepted that now. One of his five friends was gone from this world forever. Marik sobbed as hard as he probably did when his mother abandoned him.

When the orange light from outside shone into the room, Marik guessed that Dartz had arrived.

"You killed her." Marik whispered angrily through his tears as Dartz put his hand on Marik's shoulder.

"It was my duty." Dartz said simply. "Horrible as it was. I hope you can forgive me."

Marik simply sighed sadly as he held Ishizu's hand.

"There, there Marik Ishtar." Dartz said. "I know it hurts, but now, the time has come to end your suffering, forever."

At that moment, Marik looked at the wall and saw a shadow of Dartz holding a long knife as he turned around to see him. Marik grabbed Dartz's hand before he could thrust the knife into him and managed to shove him to the opposite wall, causing him to drop the knife. Marik then picked up the knife and walked to Dartz.

"Now, now… Marik Ishtar." Dartz said nervously. "Listen to me."

"No, you listen!" Marik shouted as he starred angrily at Dartz and let everything that had built up since the Festival come out. "All my life, you've told me that the world is a dark and cruel place, but now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!"

Marik then tossed the knife away when Ishizu's voice groaned, "Marik?"

"Ishizu!" Marik said in surprise.

"She lives." Dartz said angrily as he drew a sword.

"No!" Marik called out as he rushed out of the room holding Ishizu as if she were a baby.

Marik took Ishizu and hid among the gargoyles as Dartz walked around. Suddenly, Dartz looked down at them, and smiled wickedly as Marik held onto a decorative gargoyle.

"Leaving so soon?" Dartz asked with a dark smirk.

Dartz swung once-twice with his sword.

"Hang on!" Marik called out as he swung from gargoyle to gargoyle.

()()()()()

During the fight, Marik shoved Ishizu away, and looked at the two.

"I should have known you'd risk your life to save that gypsy witch, just as your own mother died trying to save you." Dartz said angrily but softly.

"What?" Marik asked in a look of surprise that Ishizu recognized as belonging to her father. The father she'd been separated from when her mother was nine months pregnant. Could Marik be…? He had the same facial structure as her father if a little more emotional. She had always thought Marik was like a brother to her, now maybe he really was.

"Now, I'm going to do what I should have done twenty years ago!" Dartz said as he threw his cloak around Marik's head as he lost his balance and fell. He grabbed onto a wall, which caused Dartz to fall over as well.

As Marik clung onto the wall, Ishizu rushed over and took Marik's hand. Meanwhile, Dartz swung onto the last gargoyle Marik had hoped to when he was attacking the two.

"Hold on." Ishizu groaned as Marik began to lose consciousness from the hot air all around. Dartz had climbed on top of the gargoyle and stood up as he held his sword, ready to strike.

"'And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!'" Dartz called out.

There was a creek, and Dartz lost his balance as the gargoyle began to give, and Ishizu could swear the gargoyle growled angrily at Dartz as it came lose, and Dartz screamed as he fell into the fiery pit himself, in this world at least. Of the next, Ishizu had no idea.

Ishizu barely registered this as Marik began slipping.

"Marik… Brother…" Ishizu groaned as she tried to pull him up, but she was still weak from her near suffocation. Marik's hand slipped from hers. "NOOOOO!"

Suddenly, Kaiba flew in on his dragon and grabbed Marik before he fell and jumped inside Notre Dame.

()()()()()

Marik woke up with Kaiba next to him and hugged him gratefully for all his help that day. Ishizu then rushed in and smiled as Marik saw her relief, and she hugged him. Marik then backed away, took Kaiba and Ishizu's hands and put them on top of each other. He knew now that it didn't matter if Ishizu loved him in the same way she loved Kaiba. She loved him as a real true friend, and that was enough for him. Kaiba and Ishizu then kissed as Marik smiled on.

()()()()()

The three walked outside as everyone cheered for the victory against Dartz, whose body had been taken off.

Ishizu held out her hand, and Marik took it and walked out, shielding his eyes from the sudden burst of sunlight. Marik looked around nervously as everyone seemed afraid of him until a little girl in a purple dress walked up. She had blonde hair and looked at Marik. She couldn't have been more than eight or nine. She then hugged him as Marik smiled and hugged her back. The girl then led Marik into the crowd as Bakura called out, "Three cheers for Marik Ishtar!"

The crowd then carried Marik on their backs as they celebrated.

_So… Here is a riddle to guess if you can_

_Sing the bells of Notre Dame._

_What makes a monster, and what makes a man…?_

_Whatever enrich you,_

_Fear and bewitch you,_

_Sing the ritual bells_

_Sing the bells of Notre… DAME . . . !_

()()()()()_  
_

Marik waved good-bye to his stone friends as everyone walked off to celebrate when several pigeons flew onto Isis.

"Don't you ever migrate?" Isis asked agitatedly.

* * *

Well, that was fun. Up next… Hercules!


End file.
